Them Mousies

 

Love to eat them mousies...

Mousies what I love to eat!

Bite they little heads off,

Nibble on they tiny feet!

 

Many thanks to B. Kliban.

Potato Heads

This Potato Head is half done, he'll get more marks and glaze eventually. These two (below) are finished. They are all about 2-3 inches high.

My latest test tiles. I keep making them so I'll know what effect glazes and underglazes will have. Then I'll totally ignore them and do something different, something I've never done before. And I won't document what I did. That will be the piece that Susan says, "Perfect glaze! Do some more like that." And of course I never can. Life is never boring in my studio.

Our latest Netflix picks:  Moscow, Belgium for great acting although we thought the story could have had smoother transitions between scenes. Amazing how "real" the European actors and actresses look compared to our American movies where everyone is botoxed, buffed and siliconed to the nth degree. I gave it a 5-star rating, Susan gave it a 4-star. Side Effects seemed bland for the first half and then the story started twisting and turning and wound up being something definitely different from what we though it would be. Great acting, we both gave it 5 stars.

Sad Birdies

Look pretty good, don't they? This picture and the next two were taken by a fellow classmate, Bernie, who has a big honker of a camera. So you think all went well? Right now the Kiln Goddess is laughing her head off.

For starters, notice the small spot on the back of the dark bird below? Somehow the glaze just skipped that spot -- an air bubble? Or did the Kiln goddess spit on it?

Below is a really interesting sort of pink glaze and sheen effect I'll never be able to create again because I have no idea how it happened. Take a close look at the bottom of that bird. See that clunky spot under it? That's a bad bird butt.

Here's a quick shot I took of all the birds from that particular firing.

So you politely ask "Why are they sad?"

They are sad because I screwed up their butts. First, I like to make the birds rattle (they are hollow) so I put BBs in them. Because the birds are hollow I have to make a small hole in the bottom so air can escape. This firing was high-fire for these special glazes, not low-fire which is what I usually do. Much to my dismay (and huge learning experience) the BBs melted this time and flowed out the air hole and made a mess on the bottom of the birds. To make thinks worse, my glazes ran more than I expected and flowed over. AND, even though Susan has warned me a hundred times, some of the birds' butts weren't exactly flat so they fell over in the firing and messed up the glaze.

Out of 17 birds, 8 were a BB disaster, 3 tip over all the time, and 3 had a lousy glaze job. Three are OK. And you thought making art was easy!

Widdle Birdies

It all starts with a ball of clay.

Then little birds take shape.

 

They look very calm and serene. But my Blog Wrangler isn't calm and serene today. First, Yahoo changed its mail format and she's going to have to waste her time (and mine) adjusting all the settings we both like. Second, Google changed its Home Page. Then Google told her she could adjust her Privacy settings so our/my pictures wouldn't be used for "sharing" in advertisements. But Google won't let her adjust the Privacy settings unless she signs up for Google+, which is the main "sharing" media. She is not happy about sharing unless it is her decision. This is not anything new. Her mother saved all her elementary school report cards and I know she did NOT get a Satisfactory in "Sharing".

Surprise!

Sometimes art is what happens when your neighbor Dina surprises you with a mango.

Sometimes you make test cups to see what glazes do and are surprised at what the Kiln Goddess gives you.

Sometimes your sister-in-law goes to Switzerland and brings you back a surprise.

Strange Things Happen

No, it isn't a bat turd, it's a large object (about 4" in diameter) that arrived from Another Planet. I cleaned it up.

There are probably aliens inside it because I made sure it rattles when you shake it. If you want to be totally creeped out, pony up $1.99 here to watch The Twilight Zone's The Invaders episode, one of the best ever made. Or maybe you can find it free somewhere else. The amazing creative thing about it is that not one single word is said by the only person in the episode, Agnes Moorhead.  Contrast that with today's TV shows that have yelling actors and canned laugh-tracks.

It also might remind you of the cocoons from the movie Cocoon. Now that I live in a retirement community the movie seems even funnier. Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley and Hume Cronyn are perfect in it.

The latest give-away:

As for movies, our latest Netflix was Mud. A sort of predictable story line but the kid's acting was terrific. Both of us kept saying we recognized the voice but couldn't identify Sam Shepard until we saw the credits.  Still doesn't hold a candle to Beasts of the Southern Wild in creative storytelling. We also watched Heist with Gene Hackman and gave it 5 stars. The plot twists and turns about 10 different times with a improbable but fascinating story. Gene is perfect every single minute, right up to the very end.

Balitha and a New Give-Away

This is Balitha, before she hit the kiln for the second time.

And here she is, ready for her hot date, carrying her shell purse.

Here is a give-away you saw once before. It was at a bus stop and stayed in place for nearly 4 months before it disappeared.

 



 

Here is the replacement, from my wood-carving days in sculpture class.

 

 

We'll see how long it stays in place.